1998 Toyota Supra Turbo - One Two Punch

Twin 8-Second Street 1998 Toyota Supra Turbos

As you surely must have noticed by now, Turbo magazine loves boost. Beyond being incorporated into the very title of our monthly bible, boost is one of the greatest equalizers when building a car. No replacement for displacement? Drop a turbo onto your 1.6L and blow that phrase out of the water.

Cars like the RX-7, Eclipse GS-T and WRX brought factory-turbocharged tinkering into American garages, but when it comes to USDM heavy hitter status, only one stands tall: the 1993-1998 Toyota Supra Turbo. Very few engines are capable of withstanding heavy, heavy boost and four-digit power output at the wheels. When it comes to the import world, only two motors come to mind, and one of them exists only in the Japanese-exclusive Skyline GT-R. The fourth generation Supra Turbo's 2JZ-GTE engine is legendary for its ability to sustain monstrous amounts of boost, all while retaining Toyota-level reliability. There's a reason why the 2JZ-GTE has been swapped into RX-7's, SC300's, IS300's, old trucks and almost anything else that rolls on wheels

Having ceased production of these mighty beasts, Toyota has switched its focus away from building hot, factory turbo cars and has upped its manufacturing of big-selling vanilla Camrys. But with the Supra's appearance in the The Fast and the Furious, and an enthusiastic following that continues to develop and refine both the Supra and the 2JZ-GTE, used Supra Turbo models continue to command a hefty price. There's something about owning a 1,000whp+ boosted street car that leaves gearheads clamoring over each other in the used car market.

Ryan Woon, owner of the notorious Supra shop Wide Open Throttle Motorsports (WOTM), is partly responsible for the madness surrounding the Supra. Woon picked up his first Supra in 1998 and was instantly hooked. He has since bought and sold more than seventy Supras, all while continuing to build on of this machine. An innovator in the Supra world, Woon has tried out numerous combinations of parts in order to go faster, ranging from a T66 all the way up to an 88mm turbocharger. The years of development have paid off as well, as this full weight, stock, six-speed transmission, street Supra has run a best quarter-mile time of 8.62-seconds at 171mph. That's right, you're looking at the world's fastest manual Supra.

The recipe for 8-second timeslips begins with power, and lots of it. Titan Motorsports, of NHRA Sport Compact championship fame, assembled the stroked 3.4L inline-six for Woon. A billet stroker crankshaft was fit with Carrillo connecting rods and CP Pistons 9.1:1 compression slugs. Up top, the cylinder head was stuffed with HKS 280-degree camshafts, Ferrea 2mm oversized valves, Ferrea valve springs, and Unorthodox Racing cam gears. Not one, but three Walbro fuel pumps are used to feed the massive 1600cc/min fuel injectors. As a testament to impressive Toyota engineering, the oiling system remains factory stock.

Woon switched the Supra over from the factory sequential twin-turbo setup to a monster single turbo setup using a Virtual Works Racing turbo kit. The heart of the upgrade is the huge Garrett GT4788 turbo, which is squeezed in place on top of a Virtual Works exhaust manifold. The final exit path for the exhaust stream is a Chunnel-like custom 4.5-inch exhaust system. Virtual Works also produced the front-mount intercooler, which uses a Garrett core rated up to 1880 hp.

Woon is quite proud of the fact that the Supra is able to make so much power, and yet can run 8-second passes with a stock transmission. The OE Getrag unit has proven itself at the strip multiple times, even under the strain of a Tilton triple-plate clutch and super sticky Mickey Thompson drag tires. There's a reason why the Supra is still so popular after all these years, and it's not just skin deep.

This Supra may be one of the fastest in the world, but Woon also drives the car weekly because this Toyota is just as comfortable cruising as it is breaking off sport bikes. There is an 8.5-second legal roll cage inside the car, but Woon has meticulously built the interior with Sparco seats, a full stereo and custom work by 1st Upholstery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The exterior remains near stock with only the addition of an RMM rear wing, carbon-fiber front lip and TRD vented aero hood. The Tilton clutch may prove to be a little tricky, but the HKS drag coilovers are easy to live with and a simple swap to iForged wheels and Toyo tires makes Woon ready to prowl the streets of Arizona with this rocket ship of a car.

In one of those rare moments when the heavens opened and the stars aligned, Turbo secured not one, but two 8-second street Supras. The twin Quicksilver-colored Supra before your eyes has run a best of 8.89-seconds at 167 mph, making it the world's second fastest manual Supra. That's right, the world's two fastest street Supras - you can thank us later.

The owner, Cody Phillips, joined the Supra community in 2002, looking to build a 700whp street car that could run on pump gas. His once-untouched Supra went from Baltic Blue to the NSX's famed Imola Orange Pearl and featured a whole host of mods that added up to 707 whp and multiple 10-second passes. But Phillips soon hooked up with WOTM - his bank account was never the same again.

Phillips' Supra was re-painted yet again, this time to Toyota's Quicksilver shade, and the engine was removed for a complete rebuild. Much like Woon, Titan Motorsports handled Phillips' 2JZ-GTE, although in this case, the stock 3.0L displacement was kept. Custom CP Pistons units and Carrillo connecting rods went onto the stock crankshaft before the bottom end was cinched up. RPM Machine performed a head port and 1mm oversized Ferrea valves were fit into the cylinder head. Phillips uses a powerful Weldon 2035 fuel pump to feed his set of 1600cc/min fuel injectors.

With a target power goal of 1200 whp, Phillips turned to Virtual Works Racing for help. A Garrett GT4788 turbocharger is perched on top of a Virtual Works exhaust manifold, which blows into a Virtual Works front-mount intercooler and finally into a Virtual Works Racing intake plenum. In fact, the GT4788 turbocharger is so large that special care had to be taken during fabrication of the exhaust manifold so the snail could actually fit correctly under the hood. With all his parts set in place, Phillips' setup broke through his target mark with ease, blasting out 1250 whp on the dyno.

AZ Motorsports in Salt Lake City, Utah, fit the Supra with the necessary roll cage, using removable side impact door bars. But, Phillips still desired a complete street car. 1st Upholstery fit the Toyota with a custom silver suede interior and a set of Sparco Monza recliners rest up front. Like Woon, Phillips makes use of an HKS drag coilover setup and only needs to switch over to his Mickey Thompson drag tires when he hits the track.

In only his second time driving this setup, Phillips laid down a 9.09-second quarter-mile pass. At this year's Texas Supra Nationals the 8.89-second pass was completed, and Phillips found himself second fastest in the world. He continued on to take the NHRA Sport RWD Championship in Denver, Colorado, and has no plans to stop with his Supra.

The Toyota Supra Turbo is a speed legend - no argument. But with more and more specimens being crashed, stolen or improperly modified, prices are only going to go higher. Just take a look at the twin Supras of Woon and Phillips.Eight-second street cars that can get you to work, the strip and then home. With a rep like this, demand will never fade. So, if you want to own your own piece of Toyota history, you'd better start cruising through the used car classifieds.